By Susan - Sunday 5 Apr 11:00 am
Choosing to become an occupational therapy assistant is by no means downgrading from occupational therapist. Your level of skill must still be competitive and you must still possess an earnest desire to help people with disabilities. You will also be required to work hands on with patients in assisting them through their phases of healing and rehabilitation by various means of treatment and initiating exercises. An occupational therapy assistant is just as important to the job as the occupational therapist is.
By being an occupational therapy assistant, you are opening yourself up to the world of occupational therapy by taking the passenger seat in all business operations and consultations. It is an excellent platform to view the workings of an occupational therapist’s rooms and further decipher if that is the route that you will take in the future. Many occupational therapy assistants opt to remain in that position for the rest of their careers, by choice and not by circumstance. In fact many occupational therapy assistants chose to study for that very position and never had any intention of becoming a fully fledged occupational therapist.
Occupational therapy assistants are considered entry level positions for occupational therapists, and it is not unusual for all occupational therapists to have been an assistant at one point in their careers or another. With most Universities you are required to complete an internship as a part of your studies, and the most common position held for this learning period is an occupational therapy assistant, learning your practical skills from a licensed occupational therapist. It is also not uncommon for students to feel so comfortable and at ease in this position that they opt to stay there, as mentioned previously.
Basic occupational therapy assistant’s duties include preparing patients for their consultations, handling the signing in and registration of new clients before their first consultation, doing basic exercises or activities with patients that don’t require the supervision of the occupational therapist, carrying out administrative duties for the office or rooms such as keeping patient’s details up to date and in order. Occupational therapy assistants will also be available to handle the overflow of patients for the occupational therapist, if there is ever the need due to an emergency situation.
Other more interesting duties that occupational therapy assistants will pursue are possibly to be given some of the less complicated disabilities to work with and will be required to carry out exercises, activities, stretches, small movements with these patients. They will also be required to give a full report back to the occupational therapist in charge. They would have the opportunity to help patients to improve their fine motor coordination as well as gross motor skills through exercises and stretches. The occupational therapy assistant would also have the chance to help patients learn valuable life skills to improve their lifestyle, living states and overall health and wellbeing.
By being an occupational therapy assistant, you are by no means signing up for the easy road. Your job will still be as challenging and motivating as that of an occupational therapist.
Posted in: Job Search, Therapy Jobs
By Brad - Thursday 24 Jul 12:41 pm
Choosing a career is one thing. Once qualified, the next hurdle you are faced with is deciding which company you want to work for and where to apply to. Occupational therapy jobs are readily available in all sectors of the health and medical industry, from hospitals in the public sector, to privately owned therapy centres, and well into the business sector too. If you have had experience working previous Occupational therapy jobs, then employers might even come looking for you!
Here is a guide to some of the medical centres and hospitals that offer the top occupational therapy jobs in America. They have become renowned through the years as the most sought after companies to work for with regards to occupational therapy jobs. Listed in no particular order:
- Tri-State Hand and Occupational Therapy, Inc. located in Cumberland, MD
- Communicative Health Care Associates Inc, to be found in Boston, Massachusetts
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, a non-profit hospital and research centre in Ohio
- Burger Rehabilitation Systems Inc, that have many clinics situated in the greater Sacramento area, Northern California
- Wee Care Therapy, Ltd, Dyer, Indiana
- The Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado
Not only medical institutions and clinics offer exemplary employment opportunities. There are many corporate groups that have in house wellness programs and thus have available occupational therapy jobs. These businesses forward commendable and competitive employment packages to their staff and are a worthwhile direction to look in.
Some of the more well known names in this field are:
- Google – The World’s Largest Search Engine Company
- Microsoft – Home of the world’s most widely used computer software
- Sears – Infamous Chain of Retail Stores
- Siemens – Innovators in electronics
- Intel – Advanced Computing components manufacturers
- Dell – High end Computer Manufacturers
- Deloitte – World famous Accountancy Firms
- Citigroup – International Banks
- Bank of America
Occupational therapy jobs are becoming a more recognised addition in many companies due to the fast growing wellness factor in the corporate world. The raised productivity levels that go hand in hand with wellness programs are creating a larger awareness towards the health of employees. This in turn is creating vast job opportunities for occupational therapists in the corporate world.
Posted in: Therapy Jobs
By Brad - Thursday 10 Jul 11:49 am
Occupational therapy jobs have an added advantage over many other employment choices, in that there are equal opportunities available within both the public sector and the private sector. You can find occupational therapy jobs in any hospital, wellness centre, clinic or medical institution, but also within corporate companies, private businesses, home based businesses and within government.
Everything outside of the government is considered private sector, therefore all the hospitals and clinics that fall under government care and funding are regarded as public sector.
The choice to make here is private or public sector? What is the difference between occupational therapy jobs in the private sector as opposed to the public sector?
There are a few details worth mentioning that could make your decision making slightly easier.
- Applying for occupational therapy jobs in the private sector is a case of you researching available jobs and selecting the ones you would like to apply to. You would then send off your resume to the prospective employers and hope for an interview to take it further
- Applying for occupational therapy jobs in the public sector involves completion of an application form, submission of all relevant details, for example: Your ID, driver’s license, recommendations from previous employers, copies of all certifications etc. After submission, an extensive background check is completed and then you wait to hear if your application has been approved
- Within the private sector, you would go for an interview with your intended future employer
- In the public sector, you would sit before a panel of people within the Health Department for your interview
- Once you have been accepted in the private sector, you would start working for the company in question
- Within the public sector, you would only then be given your listing of available jobs and make your choice from there
With regards to actual working environments within both sectors, occupational therapy jobs within the privately owned companies generally pay their employees a little more than public sector institutions do. Plus there is more room to grow and progress within private sector businesses, whereas the setup with public sector health employment is slightly more rigid with less leeway.
On the plus side for public sector, you have the added and maybe most important benefit of job security. In privately owned businesses, if profit margins are becoming too narrow, there is a chance that you could lose your job in order for the company you work for to cut costs.
Posted in: Therapy Jobs
By Brad - Monday 7 Jul 2:28 pm
To be able to study Occupational Therapy, there are certain requirements that each prospective student should be able to meet.
The University or College you are enrolling in will determine the exact specifications you need to follow. It is highly recommended that you have a strong scientific and biological background, and some Universities will specify Mathematics to be compulsory. You will need to have done some, or in a number of cases, all of the following courses:
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Physical Science
- Social Sciences
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Biology
These subjects will all give a solid grounding when entering the vast and competitive workplace of Occupational Therapy Jobs.
There are also a small range of health requirements that need to be adhered to with most Universities. Obviously a person working within the industry of health and medicine must come across as a role model for their clients. This is the reasoning behind the following possible health requirements.
- Vaccinations – most faculties recommend having an up to date vaccination record before initiating studies
- Certain Blood Tests
- Skin Tests
There are many different forms of Occupational Therapy Jobs. Once qualified, you can specialise in a chosen domain that suits your personal inclination and interests. Some of the choices you have are:
- Rehabilitative Occupational Therapy Jobs. Treating patients after accidents or injury, which is one of the more widespread choices
- Another vast percentage specialise in Occupational Therapy jobs working with children. This form of OT includes Play Occupational Therapy, which incorporates playtime into teaching a child to sit properly or to teach them to use lazy muscles again
- Specialising in disabilities, for example: autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy etc. By encouraging an improvement in fine and gross motor co-ordination and muscular stimulation
- Occupational Therapy Jobs for clients following surgical procedures, for example: After hip or any joint replacement surgery
- Hand Occupational Therapists, specialising in hands alone
- Another popular direction for Occupational Therapists to follow is into the workplace where they encourage wellness, the correct postural positions to sit in and healthy habits amongst colleagues. This serves well in schools too.
- Working with the older generation, stimulating movement amongst the more sedentary groups of people is also a popular avenue for Occupational Therapists.
Occupational Therapy Jobs are varied and can be moulded to fit in with many different work areas.
Posted in: Therapy Jobs
By Brad - Wednesday 28 May 11:25 am
Within the Therapy Sector there is constant confusion between Occupational Therapy Jobs and Physical Therapy. Which one is the preferred method of treatment and are they the same thing?
Both forms of therapy have many similarities as the training involved from both sides run on a close parallel. However, they are in fact very specialized in quite a few different ways. Both therapies assist patients in increasing muscular strength and awareness of the body and how it works. Both therapies require a far-reaching comprehension of human anatomy and physiology, and they both address issues such as weakness and under active muscle development whilst giving advice on how to improve these conditions.
But it is the finer points that make each therapy unique and make them stand apart from each other. Occupational therapy jobs focus more around activating the bodily tools that are inherently yours, and making them work optimally for you. In a case where a person has suffered an injury, an Occupational Therapist would not treat the injury itself, but rather assist you to become physically and mentally functional with the injury and be able to cope with it as you gradually build up towards recovery.
In this case, a Physical Therapist would treat the injury itself on a physical level. Helping to heal the torn tissues or ligaments through manipulation and massage and their extensive knowledge of the musculoskeletal system and how it works. Occupational Therapy jobs center more on life skills and healthy living habits, and how improving them will thus improve your life. Whereas Physical Therapy jobs would concentrate on treating an actual impairment, injury or disability
With regards to salary differences, the remuneration amounts for both Occupational Therapy jobs and Physical Therapy jobs vary according to what area you would be working in, which company or hospital you would be working for, how many clients you have on your books etc. On average Physical Therapy jobs get paid a marginal amount more per annum than Occupational Therapy jobs do.
On the whole, Physical Therapy is a more widely known form of therapy and is thus often trusted further than Occupational Therapy is. However it might not always be the appropriate tool for the job at hand as we now know.
Posted in: Therapy Jobs
By Susan - Thursday 6 Mar 10:00 am
Occupational Therapist Employment is an involved business, and requires highly skilled individuals to carry out the practice. A 4 year study is normal for receiving the adequate qualifications to be able to embark in occupational therapist employment. Being that the studying is no walk in the park, and the actual practice of occupational therapy is so precise and focussed on being correct, the remuneration of occupational therapist employment is quite substantial.
Depending on where you work or what kind of practice you are entering into will also determine your monthly or annual salary. There are many different levels for occupational therapist employment as well as many different arenas to enter into.
If you started your own private practice you could decide what rate is applicable to you and what you need to command to cover your costs and make a profit.
According to salary.com, these are the base ranges for different types of occupational therapist employment that are available, so in other words this is where the salaries would start:
An Occupational Therapist can earn roughly between $60000.00 annually and $90000.00 annually. This is all influenced by your location in America and the company you work for. The figures given for each location as split into regions for occupational therapist employment are as follows:
- West: Starting at about $67000.00
- North East: Starting at $66500.00
- Middle Atlantic: Starting at $66500.00
- South: Starting at $63300.00
- Midwest: Starting at $62900.00
Accepting occupational therapist employment as an assistant can earn you a base salary of between $35000.00 and $50000.00 annually. As per location, the salaries differ as noted below:
- West: Starting average of $44300.00
- North East: Starting at $44500.00
- Middle Atlantic: Starting at $43600.00
- South: Starting at $42300.00
- Midwest: Starting at $41900.00
Occupational therapist employment specializing in home care is assistance geared towards people who are unable to come to hospitals or your practice for treatment. It allows you to have the freedom of conducting business from anywhere and not having to work out of one space everyday. Because travelling is involved, remuneration can be slightly higher, ranging from a base salary of about $57000.00 to $76000.00 annually. These figures, like the others, differ according to your location:
- West: Starting at $67700.00
- North East: Starting at $68200.00
- Middle Atlantic: Starting at $66900.00
- South: Starting at $65800.00
- Midwest: Starting at $62400.00
Occupational therapist employment in a nursing home will return slightly higher rewards on a monetary scale, and far higher rewards on a scale of job satisfaction. Being able to help people that are confined to a home will bring a small sense of achievement to them and hopefully improve their living conditions and lifestyle. On average, occupational therapists working in nursing homes will receive a base salary of between $60000.00 and $76000.00 annually.
According to region:
- West: Starting at $68900.00
- North East: Starting at $68400.00
- Middle Atlantic: Starting at $68200.00
- South: Starting at $67900.00
- Midwest: Starting at $65600.00
Choosing occupational therapist employment as an occupational therapists assistant in a nursing home will also present you with a competitive salary as opposed to other areas. With a base salary ranging from $43000.00 to $56000.00 annually, here are the figures by region:
- West: Starting at $51000.00
- North East: Starting at $50600.00
- Middle Atlantic: Starting at $50700.00
- South: Starting at $49900.00
- Midwest: Starting at $47400.00
Judging by these figures, job satisfaction is not the only thing you can gain by opting for occupational therapist employment. A competitive salary and decent annual remuneration is also a part of the package.
Posted in: Job Search, Therapy Jobs
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